Hello everyone and welcome back to the craft room and today’s Home Decor Winter Gnomes post! About a month ago while scrolling through Facebook, I ran across fun craft video. In this short, they made the most adorable gnome with faux fur, a knit hat, and a 10” to 12” piece from a 2”x6” board. After sharing the video to my Facebook feed, my cousin Ginger and I agreed we needed to make them! We hooked up with my sister and off we went to the hardware and craft stores. The resulting gnomes are just too cute for words!
Supplies
To make these gnomes you need just a few supplies, starting off with a length of board. The video directions suggested a piece of 2” x 6” cut to either 10” or 12”. When we hit the local hardware store, the three of us decided to try 12” pieces. We dug through the stack of boards, found the nicest looking one and had a it trimmed into 7 pieces and a tag end that wasn’t perfect but still usable.
From the hardware store we headed to the craft store to pick up a few more supplies. We each purchased a piece of 9” x 12” piece of faux fur to add character to our little friends. While most of the colors would have been cool, we all really liked the gray faux fur. The original video showed using a round wood bead, but we all decided a 1” wood dome would be better suited. From the craft store, we headed to the Dollar Store to find some knit hats. Our cousin had the fantastic idea to also grab a Santa hat for one of her little fellas.
For the construction of the gnomes you will also need scissors, a high temp glue gun and a staple gun. The high temp glue is important because you will be gluing item directly to the wood. I only had a low temp glue gun, so I bought a Gorilla Glue Gun and extra glue sticks. I already had the staple gun and staples in my range bag, so it was time to start making.
Making The Gnomes
Unfortunately, I ended up getting sick the afternoon we got together. Sadly, I missed the first make, but there were lessons learned which I’ll get to shortly. When I sat down to make my gnomes I started by cutting the faux fur in half to measure 6” x 9”. I knew it was going to be a mess cutting into that fur, so I tried to lessen that by parting the fur with a thin paintbrush handle. You can see what I mean by that in the image below. It was still a bit messy, but not as bad as it could have been!
In the image below, you can see how it looked cut into two pieces. Thankfully a straight cut isn’t completely necessary for this project!
Next I lined up the board and made a few placement marks on the back of the fabric. The image below is from the third gnome with a smaller 2” x 4” piece of wood. I added a generous amount of hot glue and held the board in place for a few moments. I then placed glue around the sides and back to secure the fur into place.
One thing to keep in mind; the faux fur is only 9” wide. On the larger gnomes, there will be a gap in the back where the fur will not meet. If there is a chance the back of your gnome will be seen, you might consider painting, or adding felt to cover the extra wood.
After the beard is in place, it’s time to add the hat using hot glue to secure it in front. On the back side of the gnome, you will use hot glue and your staple gun. The extra fabric will need to be folded over and tacked down. I didn’t have any issues with this portion. The staples are holding it in place nicely. The last step is to glue on the wood dome for the nose.
Home Decor Winter Gnomes Gallery
The two gnomes below were made by my cousin Ginger. She did an amazing job! This is where we learned that 12” is a bit to tall for the knit hats we purchased. From what I understand, my cousin and sister had a heck of a time getting the hat to stay in place before gluing it down. This size however is perfect for the Santa hat.
I absolutely love my first two gnomes. After the glue dried on the noses, I did a little bit of “grooming” to give my little guys a mustache.
This gent is wearing an extra hat that my husband had in the back of his truck.
My third gnome is the extra piece from the end of the original board. My husband cut it down to about 2” x 4” x 8” piece. The beard was cut a little shorter at about 5” long. Since he’s smaller than the other two, I went back to the store and bought a light brown faux fur. He goes with the group perfectly.
Thank you for joining me for today’s Home Decor Winter Gnomes Post. These are so much fun to create, and I have plans to make three more soon! The two larger gnomes have a very ZZ Top vibe about them. Every time I look at them I can’t help but smile! Will you be making some of these cuties? If you do I would love to see them! Drop me a link to a photo in the comments below! Until then have a fantastic week and I will see you back in the craft room soon!
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